Fate
by kawaiidragonfoe821
Summary: Goren & Eames are handed a tough case that comes with help from abroad. But things grow even more complicated when Goren devlops feelings for a beautiful Argentinean narcotics detective. As always, please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

Law & Order, Criminal Intent

Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I OWN nothing & CLAIM nothing!**

_Summery: Another murder victim, another case… same old cat & mouse game, right? Not exactly. Bobby O/C. Author's notes: This is a totally new set of stories that has no reference to my other works._

"Uh…" Goren trailed off as he & Eames sidled into a dilapidated apartment building that looked to have been on the condemned list for some time. All thirteen drug entrepreneurs were dead, shot to death with a mac ten. "It's most likely a rival drug gang." One of the detectives said. "Maybe." Bobby replied, more to himself then those around him.

"Our dead perps were big-time dealers of crack cocaine & meth. We had tabs on them from the inside via an informant, he was killed, too. We were weeks from pulling the sting." Jake Sanders of Narcotics said in Deakins office later that day. "Thanks, we'll keep you posted on our findings." Deakins said as Jake departed with a nod. "That was one convenient killing." Alex said to herself. "What's your thinking?" Deakins asked Bobby. "That someone affiliated with their organization knew they were going to be busted." He replied as Deakins' phone rang. "Is that right? Yes sir, we're happy to get any help we can on this." He said as he hung up. "That was the chief of D's, apparently our dead perps were part of an Argentinean drug gang that was being tracked by the Argentinean police, their sending a detective over now who's familiar with the case. They should be arriving at JFK this evening, would you mind picking them up?" Deakins said with a wry smile

"I wonder what he's going to be like." Bobby said. "& what makes you think 'he's' a 'he'?" Alex interjected. "Because, there aren't many female officers on the Argentinean police force, even today." Bobby replied as they stood at Gate seventy two, he was rendered speechless when a woman approached them. "Excuse me; are you detectives' Goren & Eames?" She asked coolly. "Yes, it's nice to meet you." Alex said, nudging her partner as he continued to stare, transfixed. Alex could see why, this woman was tall, & very pretty with porcelain skin, natural white-blonde hair & ice-blue eyes. "I'm sorry for my partner; his wits seem to have left him." Alex said as she gave Goren a withering look as they all entered their vehicle.

"Really Goren, that's enough, you're acting worse than a teenager!" Alex said annoyingly as he stared longingly at her as she talked with Deakins in his office, she sighed exasperatedly when Bobby didn't answer, he continued to watched her as she walked towards them with Deakins. "I know you have met, but I want you to be officially introduced." He said as the woman stepped forward. "My name is Esmeralda Torrez & I'm a captain with the Buenos Aries police narcotics division." She said as she held out her hand, both Alex & Bobby stood to shake it. "I'll leave you three to it." Deakins said as he excused himself. "Captain Deakins has told me a lot about you, he says you're one of his best teams he has." "We try." Alex said good naturedly as Bobby rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly in response to the comment. "We have been tracking this gang; they call themselves 'The Guillotine' & they have been moving drugs in & out of Argentina for the past three years. All that work is now for nothing." She said. "This gang worked for a local drug lord by the name of Iso Maldonado; perhaps he got wind that his… employees were going to be made." She said. "Has he had any activity at all?" Bobby asked. Esmeralda turned to him, her face remained expressionless, but there was a fresh twinkle deep within her ice-blue eyes as she looked upon him. Alex smiled,she couldtell,eventhrough Esmeralda's professional exteriorthat she found her partnerattractive."He never has any activity, he always sends his minions to do his dirty work." "So, how do _you_ suggest we go about catching him?" Bobby said with an amused smile on his youngish face. "One of his Iso's weaknesses is that is he a severe paranoiac, he has to make sure his minions do it right. If we find the minions, we'll find him." She said

"Well, that was easier then I thought it would be." Alex said as they walked out of their last stop of the day, the mother of the last victim. "It seems that this Iso person roped them into a life of crime by offering unprecedented riches for them & their families" Bobby remained silent as they got into their SUV & drove away. "You're still thinking about her, aren't you?" Bobby nodded slowly, still somewhat lost in thought. "I wouldn't spend too much time on her, Goren. She seems like a bit of a cold fish to me." Alex said, the fact that Esmeralda was seemingly an untouchable made her all the more desirable, men loved a challenge… especially men like Bobby.

Esmeralda was also deep in thought as she got into her vehicle & pulled slowly into rush hour traffic. She found the other half of thevictims' families to be equally cooperative in wanting to find the person responsible for the death of their loved ones. She cursed to herself as she realized there had been an accident up ahead & the wait would be a long one. She leaned back in her seat, no time like the present to relax. Then; a tall, dark handsome figure with intense dark eyes drifted into her conscious. She suddenly realized what she was doing & shook him out of her mind, she was here as a rep. for her police department as well as her country, the last thing she needed to be doing was daydreaming about a man. Still, she found that she couldn't entirely push him out of her mind.

"We're going to be here all night sorting through all this info." Alex said hopelessly as they all sat in an empty interrogation room, the table was littered with files & papers. Bobby didn't answer; he was deeply engrossed in the case file he was reading. Alex was mildly surprised when she saw that Esmeralda was watching him intently, perhaps Bobby wasn't wasting his energy, after all. "I'm going to grab some coffee, does anyone else want some?" She asked. Esmeralda shook her head; Bobby distractedly raised his hand, never breaking eye contact with the file. "Okay then." She said as she left them to it in hopes one of them would break the ice. "That's a beautiful tango." Bobby said without looking up, Esmeralda looked at him peculiarly. "I'm sorry?" Bobby gestured to her headphones. "What is that, from the 1920's?" "You're familiar with the dance?" She asked. "I spent six months in Argentina when I was with the Army, I learned there. I haven't danced it much sense I came back to the states, I can't find anyone who knows it well enough." He said. "Back home, people know the dance moves, but they've forgotten what tango _really_ is about." She said, her intense ice-blue gaze never wavering from his as she continued to explain. "It's about attraction, lust & sometimes pain… a vertical expression of horizontal desires. The tango, if done right is truly better then sex." She finished. "I would sure love to dance it with you sometime." Bobby said as Alex returned with their coffee, Esmeralda quickly returned to work as Alex rejoined them at the table, a knowing smile on her face.

"I'm sorry, detectives but gut instincts alone don't produce arrest warrants." Carver said the next morning in Deakins office. Bobby ran a frustrated hand over his face as he moved next to Carver to explain. "Look… Victor Morales… the victims' loved ones & friends said this was their only contact. His financial records show that he was banking more money then he was making at his temp job." Carver sighed. "The best I can do right now is a search warrant of his home."

"Mr. Morales, it's the police, open up or we're coming in anyway!" Alex said, she waited a moment before nodding to SWAT, who burst the door down & they all rushed in. "Damn it!" Esmeralda cursed as they found Victor Morales dead in a pool of blood.

End of chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2

Law & Order Criminal Intent

Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I OWN nothing & CLAIM nothing!**

_Summery: This is a continuation from the first chapter, if you're here; I assume you know what is going on._

"Without Morales, we're back to square one." Carver said in Deakins office the next morning, Esmeralda smacked her palm down onto the arm of her chair in frustration as she watched Carver leave. "He was our only lead in Argentina, too. Iso must've known that he's talk, & beat us to him. So… let's talk to his family." "No." Bobby interjected; both Alex & Esmeralda looked at him strangely. "First we need to find out how he's beating us to the punch." "Are you thinking a leak?" Alex asked. "It crossed my mind." Bobby replied as he opened the door for them.

"So, the leak was in the 2-7? That ought to make Van Buren happy." Deakins said a week later when they handed him the paperwork. "His name is Carl Mendez, he has family in Argentina & we found him to be on Iso's payroll." Esmeralda said. "You've got the warrant, I'll call Van Buren and you three go & pick him up."

"This is it." Alex said, on a whim, Bobby tried the door & found it to be unlocked; not the best of signs. They all drew their weapons & filed in & broke off into different areas of the apartment; Bobby into the kitchen, Alex into the bedroom & Esmeralda took the bathroom. She checked every nook & cranny, but failed to see Carl Mendez hidden in the space between the ceiling & the cabinets. He waited for her to holster her weapon before pouncing on her like a wild animal. Esmeralda elbowed him in the gut & slammed him against the wall as he reached for her weapon. In the common room of the apartment, Bobby & Alex heard the struggle & rushed to help her, Bobby's heart was racing as he feared not making it there in time. They burst in to see that he had a hand on her weapon, she was putting up a terrific fight to keep it in the holster, & Bobby wasted no time in leaping forward & shoving him up against the wall. "Carl Mendez, you're under arrest." He said, his massive size dwarfing the average sized Latino man as he was hauled away by uniformed police officers. Bobby looked to Esmeralda with a satisfied expression that melted as soon as it came in contact with her icy glare. "Why did you do that, I had it under control." She said dangerously as she stormed out with him following behind. "No, you didn't; he would have gotten a hold of your weapon if Eames & I hadn't come in. "Look, I've arrested worse in Argentina on my own… no backup, I don't need someone following behind me thinking that I need to be saved like some damsel in distress." She said as she turned on heel & walked out in a huff. "& here I was thinking you were getting her to warm up." Alex said snarkily as they watched her go.

"I would've thought you'd want me in chains for this." Mendez said in the interrogation room, Esmeralda gave a short laugh. "I've met mob wives that were tougher then you, Carl. You didn't do a very good job at cleaning up your apartment, either. We found all the evidence we need to bury you." She said. Carl remained smug & quiet. "You think that boss of yours is going to swoop out of the sky & save you, guess again. He's probably on his way to the airport now, leaving you to take the fall." Carl slammed his hands on the table as he cursed under his breath. "Why let him walk? Why should he get to go free? He was the one pulling the strings." Carl crossed his arms in front of him & heaved a big sigh as his lawyer conversed with him. "If he gives up his boss, what can you do for him?" His lawyer said. "Protection, Iso…. He has people everywhere, even in the jails. I want protection." Carl said, suddenly very afraid, Esmeralda smiled as she pushed a pen & paper across the table at him. "First, scratch our backs."

"That was some slick work, detective Torrez. I should have a warrant for you within the hour with this testimony." Carver said as he exited. "I'll get started on the paperwork." Eames said as she left them in the observation room. "I'm sorry for upsetting you back at Carl's; I didn't mean it as an insult. If it had been Eames in the same situation, I would have done the same thing. I know you don't work closely with any one partner in Argentina, but here we to things a little differently, we watch each other's backs." To his surprise, she smiled warmly at him; her shapely face took on a whole her level of beauty in wake of the new emotion. "Apology accepted, I did kind of over react, I just want to make a good impression here for my Government & my country & I was afraid not being able to handle that scum would make me come across as weak." She said. "When Eames & I solve a case, we always go out to celebrate. You're welcomed to join us; it's thanks to you we're even this close to solving it." Esmeralda smiled again. "I'll think about it."

"You'd think a celebrity lived here instead of a crime boss." Alex said as they looked at the huge mansion before them through its ten-foot high cast iron gates. "Here, you're going to have to punch it in, I didn't bring my glasses." She said as Bobby moved to the number pad. Suddenly, Esmeralda heard the telltale sound of tires kissing asphalt & only just had enough time to push Bobby out of the way as a limousine barreled through the open gate. They both landed softly on the grass, she on top of him. "Thanks." Bobby said as he felt his heart skip a few beats in response to Esmeralda's closeness; they stared into each other's eyes, entranced until Alex spoke up. "Guys! Get the lead out, he's getting away!" She yelled. "Move over, I'm driving." Esmeralda said as she pushed Alex aside. They caught up to the large, black car in what seemed like seconds as patrol cars backed them up Alex nervously tightened her safety belt, Bobby on the other hand, was leaning forward as far as his would allow, his hands braced on the dash. The limo driver attempted a turn with the large, awkward car; Esmeralda saw her chance & rammed it. Forcing it off the road & into a tree, both Iso & the driver opened their doors & prepared to run, but their backup was on them before they could even take a step. "Nice driving." Alex said, slightly breathless. "Thanks to the narrow Argentinean streets." Esmeralda replied.

"That's the last of it. I don't know about you, but I'm beat. I know that I said we'd go to dinner, Bobby but I'm afraid I'll have to take a rain check." Alex said. "But… I made reservations for is already." He said, trying his best to sound disappointed, he knew what she was doing for him & he owed her big time for it. "Hey… why don't you take Esmeralda, she _did_ help us solve the case, after all." Alex suggested, with a wry smile. Bobby looked hopefully to Esmeralda, who sighed in defeat. "Okay."

End of chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3

Law & Order, Criminal Intent

Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I OWN nothing & CLAIM nothing!**

_Summery: It's in the first chapter._

"I guess this was a good idea after all, this place is charming, & it reminds me of home." Esmeralda said as she looked around. "A buddy of mind runs it, he's from Argentina." Bobby said as Esmeralda tilted her head towards the live trio as a tango movement began to play. Bobby stood & offered his hand but to his great disappointment, she declined. "The tango isn't for public places; it's a very private & sensual act." She said they sat in comfortable silence, listening to the music, allowing it to fill their souls as they watched the other couples dance. "You have to maintain a certain level of modesty when you dance in public, to truly experience the tango, there must be no modesty. Only feelings & bodies _expressing_ those feelings." She said, her eyes glowing with that same passionate light. All too soon, it was closing time, the musicians were packing up to leave & the manager began turning chairs on top of tables, locking the door as he went. "Shouldn't we…?" She said but Bobby held up his hand. "The door locks from the outside; Carlos pulls the blinds & leaves the bar open." Bobby said, waving to Carlos, who gave him a thumbs-up as he ascended the stairs to bed. Bobby walked over the jukebox & put a few quarters in, tango music poured out of the speakers as he held his hand out to her once more. "There's no one here now." He said; there was something devilish in Esmeralda's smile as she put her hand in his & allowed her self to be lead to the dance floor. "Let me lead first, I want to show you how it's _really_ done." She said as she drew close to him, leaving no space between them. "American tango instructors teach with space between the man & the woman." She said as they swept around the dance floor. "They forget that the tango is meant to _eliminate_ the space between the man & the woman." She said, slipping her leg around the back of his as she allowed him to take the lead. He pivoted her, their attraction growing with every battle of their legs. When the song ended, they were both dripping with sweat & teaming with sexual tension. "& that… is how it is really done; see why it's not for the prying eyes of the public?" She said as she made to walk back to their table, but Bobby took hold of her hand & pulled her close to him once more. "I know that you're attracted to me, I could feel it when we were dancing, why do you keep fighting it?" Esmeralda blushed shamefully. "I… I didn't mean for you to feel that, I'm sorry." She said; she resisted against his embrace, trying with all her might not to succumb to it but she couldn't block out how _right_ it felt. "I've been attracted to you sense I first saw you, but I guess you could feel that when we were dancing." He said as he cupped her face in his hands. _'I shouldn't be doing this.'_ The voice in her head screamed, but her limbs didn't seem to be listening as he began to caress her neck. All the resistance she had left crumbled in wake of this sensual caress as she brought his lips to meet hers, their kiss lasted until their lungs finally burned for air & they were forced to part. "We… we shouldn't be doing this..." She said, not really meaning it as she reveled in the gentle caress of his hands on her body. "Esmeralda…. I think I'm falling in love with you." Bobby said, his passion talking, Esmeralda pulled back in shock. "What!" She said. "I think I might be falling in love with you." Bobby repeated. "… I have to go!" Esmeralda said as she ran out the doors of the restaurant.

"& she just ran out?" Alex said the next morning to her devastated partner. "By the time I caught up, she was speeding away in a cab. Why did that have to come out?" He said as he put his head in his hands. "Well, you do love her, right?" "What does it matter, she doesn't love me." He said dismally. "Don't be so sure." Alex said with a smile. "How do you know?" "Just call it woman's intuition." She said as Deakins waved them in. "Harbor patrol just pulled a body in a car out of the Hudson; they're saying that it matches the Drowner's MO."

"That makes four this month." Bobby said as he located the Drowner's signature, a single needle mark on the side of the jugular. "He injects them with air to kill them before they go in the water." Bobby explained to the harbor cop. "He's still taking every precaution to prevent from getting caught." Dr. Rogers said down in the lab as she covered the woman's body up.

"Oh god… our baby." Tina Seller's mother said as she looked at the photo of her dead daughter. "Mrs. Sellers, was she seeing anyone that you know of?" Alex asked. "Yes, a very nice young man by the name of Sam Gains." "Tina's dead? Oh god." Sam said as he sank down onto his couch. "You didn't know?" Alex said. "We broke up; it was a mutual decision to end it. We stayed friends, she even set me up with a friend of hers named Clara Hanson." "She managed to stay on good enough terms after a breakup to offer to set him on with another woman? Alex said as she pulled away from the curb in their SUV, its tires sloshing sickeningly through the snow. "I guess the next stop is the new girlfriend's house." Alex said. "She didn't deserve this, she was a wonderful person. She helped me meet Sam." Clara said as she blew her nose with a tissue. "Even wonderful people make enemies, Miss Hanson. Can you think of anyone who might want to harm her?" "Well, she was seeing someone new; she didn't talk about him much. I don't think it was that serious because she hadn't told her mother about it yet." "Did you ever get a name out of her?" Alex asked. "John… I'm pretty sure it was john." Clara replied.

"The girl's got a good memory. John Sanders, thirty three & already has priors for date rape. No wonder she didn't tell her mother about him." Alex said.

"Mr. Sanders! It's the police; you don't have any choice but to let us in!" Alec yelled through the door, to her surprise, John opened it with out incident. "Good job, you caught me." He said smugly. "How'd you like that, he just confessed to it all." Deakins said as they watched him talk with his lawyer in the observation room. "I'm going for the death penalty. Send him to arraignment when you're ready." Carver said.

"Well that was the quickest arraignment trial I've ever seen." Alex said, they had just exited the court room when Bobby stopped so suddenly that Alex crashed into him. "What in the..!" She began, but stopped as she saw Esmeralda standing there, the thousands of were people rushing around her the way a stream rushes around a rock. Tears were evident in her eyes even from this distance as Alex watched as their gazes met.

End of Chapter 3


	4. Chapter 4

Law & Order Criminal Intent

Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I OWN nothing & CLAIM nothing!**

_Summery: In the first chapter._

Bobby opened his mouth to speak. "Don't ask me what I'm doing here, I don't even know." She said, cutting him off. "I got all the way to the airport, but I just couldn't bring myself to get on the damn plane." Bobby smiled. "I'm glad you didn't."

Alex watched the next morning as her partner came in, grinning like the Cheshire cat. "You dog, you slept with her, didn't you?" "Nope, we just talked." Bobby said, his grin growing wider. "She's really making you work for it, isn't she?" Alex said dryly as a passing detective handed her a fax. "It never ends, does it?" She said as she passed it to him.

"Same MO as your other three, we thought you'd want to pile on." A fellow detective said as he & Alex observed the body from above while Goren poked around it in that classic way he always does.

"The femoral artery is cut with what looks like a nine-inch switchblade; the poor girl was violated as she was bleeding out." Dr. Rogers said as they all looked over the body. "Any semen or DNA?" Bobby asked. "Our killer used a condom; the only thing I found was spermicide." "& we're sure it was the same person?" Deakins said. "I'm putting my money on it by the way she was killed & violated." Bobby said. Bobby was pleasantly surprised when he got back up stairs to find Esmeralda setting at his desk. "I heard about your troubles nailing this guy down. I got with a friend of mine from the FBI & here's what we came up with." She said as she handed him the file of information. "This is good, this is very good." He said as he passed it to Eames. "Apparently, our guy likes to launder money, too." Alex said in Deakins office that next morning. "Edward Warner, huh? Nice put-together on this file." "Thanks to Esmeralda." Alex said, Bobby rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly at the mention of her name. "I'll call Carver & get the warrant set into motion." Deakins said as he picked up the phone.

"Mr. Warner! It's the police!" Bobby yelled through the door, when there was no answer, he blasted it open with a powerful kick & they prowled inside with their guns drawn. Suddenly, there was a noise from behind them; Bobby whirled around as two flashes of light tore through the darkness. Alex watched in horror as the perpetrator's bullet pierced her partner & friend's body, at the same time, she heard a gurgling yell & a thud from somewhere in the dark spilt-level condo. "Bobby? Oh god, are you okay?" Alex said as she pulled his jacket off to check him over, the bullet had gone through & through his left shoulder. "Let's get you to the hospital." Alex said exasperatedly as she got onto her radio.

Bobby's facial expression lit up as Esmeralda walked through the door, shaking her head. "Goren, what am I going to do with you?" She said as she sat on the side of his bed. "Doctor says I'm going to be fine, no major damage, no worries." Bobby said with a smile, Esmeralda smiled as she ruffled his hair fondly. "Hey, I'm just starting to get used to having you around, I wouldn't want to lose you now." She said as he pulled her into a kiss.

"You didn't really have to do this." Bobby said as they walked through the elevator into the damp, cold parking garage, their breath suddenly silvery on the air. "I want to, Doc says that you should take it easy, how are you going to do that without any help?" "Well… I don't think that you're the right person to be coming home with me if I want to take it easy." Bobby said, a mischievous grin playing about his handsome features, that combined with a couple of days worth of stubble made him almost irritable. "Come on, no riding home on the subway for you." She said as she took out a set of keys, Bobby stopped dead in his tracks as a black mid-nineties model Porsche 9-11 turbo came into view around the nearest pillar. "Well? What do you think?" Esmeralda asked needlessly as Bobby caressed the front fender of the car lovingly. "I… I don't know what to say." He said, Esmeralda laughed at his priceless reaction; he was eyeing her car as though it were a naked woman standing in the parking lot. Esmeralda shook her head as she began to wonder how those hands would feel like on _her_ body.

"I wouldn't have imagined you to live so modestly." Esmeralda said as she stepped into his apartment, her intoxicating scent of roses filling his nostrils. He walked up from behind, wrapped his arms around her & began to caress her neck. "A-aren't you supposed to be taking it easy?" She said, her voice quaking slightly as her passion level rose as he gently turned her to face him. "I've done nothing but think about you ever sense our talk the other night." He whispered into her ear, she shivered with desire at the feeling of his soft words tickling the hairs on the back of her neck. He brought his lips to meet hers & the spark of attraction they had been skirting around for so many months suddenly erupted into an inferno. He lifted her right off her feet & carried her into the bedroom, never breaking the kiss they had engaged in & before Esmeralda knew it, they were on the bed & halfway undressed. Bobby suddenly felt hesitation in her embrace & withdrew immediately. "I'm sorry, it's just… god how do I tell you this…" She trailed off as she looked away shamefully. "What?" Bobby said as he took her hand in his. "I've… I've never had sex before." She said blatantly, Bobby drew back further in shock. "Never!" He said, astounded. "I know, its weird, me being thirty five & all. When I was young I was so focused on my career that sex just never crossed my mind." She said, Bobby squeezed her hand gently. "Esmeralda, I love you, you know that. But if you don't feel comfortable or ready then we don't have to." Esmeralda smiled lovingly at him as she placed her hand on his cheek. "Thanks for being so understanding, but I don't think there's anyone I'd rather lose it to." She said as she took hold of his undershirt & pulled him back on top of her.

End of chapter 4


End file.
